TAKING TEN WITH: MINDYOURSTYLE (AUS)

Monika motivates people to get outside of their comfort zones, and slip into the best version of themselves. As the creator of Mindyourstyle, a Perth-based personal styling and image consultancy, she encourages individuals to shed their apprehension and let their inner light shine. Her passion lies in stripping back to an authentic essence, and this process empowers people to look and feel their best, no matter their age, shape, lifestyle or budget. IT TURNS OUT THAT Awareness PAIRS WELL WITH EVERYTHING, and looking inwards IS key to finding your best self reflectING back.

Meet Monika from MindyourStyle.

MONIKA, WHAT'S MINDYOURSTYLE ALL ABOUT?

Mindyourstyle is my personal styling and image consultancy business. I help women build a wardrobe and style that reflects their authentic self. This means focusing more on the styles that suit them and their personality, career, lifestyle and mindset, rather than following a fashion trend at any given point in time. I work to give women a wardrobe that empowers them to make their mark in the world!

AND HOW DOES YOUR PASSION DRIVE YOU TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY WITHIN THE STYLING INDUSTRY?

I am passionate about empowering women to look and feel their best, no matter their age, shape, lifestyle or budget. The one thing that is often preventing my clients from having a personal style or an image that they truly love and feel amazing in, is their mindset. The clothing we choose has much more of an impact on how we think and feel than many people might think!

My point of difference is that I guide women to be more mindful of themselves and their personal style choices (hence the name, “mind your style”). I use mindful styling techniques to facilitate a deeper understanding of personal style, including the underlying reasons behind why individuals wear certain things over others, and how they can use this awareness to get out of a style rut. This updated image enables one to reflect on who they are now and who they want to be in the future.

DO COLOUR AND CUT FOSTER AN INDIVIDUAL’S CONFIDENCE AND MOTIVATION?

My focus is on unique power colours to foster confidence and motivation. Power colours are those colours that you find have a positive effect on the way you feel, your mindset, your attitude and your confidence. These colours are different for all of us and can change over time, which contrasts to traditional styling, which solely focusses on your skin tone and hair/eye colour to find colours that suit you. Whilst I take that into account as well, I do believe that determining how different colours make you feel when you wear them can help you dress in a way that will make you feel more confident, motivated, happier and energised.

In terms of cut, most people tend to see themselves with a 30-40% negative distortion of what their bodies actually look like. If your energy, thoughts and emotions are always focused on the parts of the body that you dislike, you can potentially dress in a way that is centred around hiding those aspects. Alternatively, if you shift your focus to the body parts that you love, then your energy, thoughts and emotions will be more positive. Consequentially, you will dress in a way that highlights your attributes and makes you feel more confident about yourself. This may also translate to an increased confidence in your ability to make positive changes in other areas of your life too.

TELL US, WHO IS YOUR BIGGEST SOURCE OF INSPIRATION?

I love listening to and watching life coach and entrepreneur, Marie Forleo. She is a great example of a woman who has created a thriving business that is based on kindness, self-love and compassion and helps people to grow. Not only does she give great advice around running a business, finding your purpose and having an attitude of gratitude, she’s also hilarious (I highly recommend Marie TV videos)!

WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE WHO FEEL PRESSURED TO LOOK A CERTAIN WAY?

You have the ability to shift your mindset and your response to the sort of people that make negative comment or question your style choices. Before you set off into internal freak out mode, remember, self-doubt is a normal unconscious response, but it shouldn’t hold you back from embracing your style.

I teach my clients to own it and to respond to these sorts of statements in a positive way. This could be something like “I just wanted to feel good in what I’m wearing today, and this makes me feel good.” People will respect that because they can sense that you’re comfortable in what you’re wearing. In turn, it might have a positive influence on the other person if they are dissatisfied with how they dress or have low self-confidence.

WHO COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK OF SOMEONE WITH A STRONG SENSE OF PERSONAL STYLE?

Clothes are our way of saying who we are without having to speak. In my view, some celebrities with a strong sense of personal style are Emma Watson and Amal Clooney. They aren’t slaves to the latest trends, but they always look cleverly crafted and stylish in their own unique way. They have a presence about their image and a look that is authentic to who they are and what they stand for. Iris Apfel is another woman who has a strong sense of personal style. She is known for taking several years to curate the perfect outfit, sourcing pieces that help her to tell a story about her life and who she is as a person.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE SUSTAINABILITY ELEMENT OF YOUR STYLING?

Sustainable fashion is important to me, and I am seeing an increase in clients that are interested in learning more about it too - which is a great sign. I can provide advice on more sustainable and ethical options, however, I am ultimately working within the client’s specified budget and style preferences. If interested, I like to educate on designer resale and consignment stores, or ethical brands on social media. Some of my suggestions are available on the Mind Your Style Blog. My intention is to increase awareness about sustainable fashion in the community.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES MINDFUL STYLING MAKING A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE?

My clients are not only re-discovering their own personal style but also gaining a far greater appreciation of why they wear certain clothes over others. Most importantly, they are learning how to overcome any limiting beliefs or blocks that they have around this. I love when my clients report back to me after the styling process, really excited about their wardrobe full of suitable clothes that they can wear with enjoyment and confidence! That just lights me up inside!

CAN YOU SHARE SOME TIPS ON DEVELOPING A PERSONAL STYLE?

One of the most important tips I give my clients is to discover what you really love to wear. Figure out what clothing items make you feel good, happy and confident when you wear them. One way to recognise what these items are is to keep track through journalling. Simply jot down what you wore, what colour it was and how it made you feel by the end of the day. This will help you get rid of clothing that doesn’t resonate with you anymore. Another tip would be to follow style bloggers on social media or polyvore/pintrest accounts and take note of the vibe that you are drawn to (i.e. it might be the clothes they wear, what they stand for, what their lifestyle is etc). Save photos of what you love on your phone or computer, and overtime you will start to notice a 'theme' from your choices.

If you’re confused about what your personal style is or how to create a functional and affordable wardrobe, I would highly recommend having a personal styling session. In this fast paced, busy world, many of us are becoming increasingly time poor. The last thing we want to do on our weekends is run around the shops, overwhelmed by stimulation and choice, coming home empty-handed or with more of the same. In a personal styling session, your outfits are already pre-selected and put on hold, ready for you to try on. All you have to do is show up, try things on and choose what you love, with no pressure to buy!

WHAT’S NEXT FOR MINDYOURSTYLE?

I have recently undertaken further training at the Australian Style Institute in Melbourne to conduct personal styling and image branding workshops. I intend to hold mindful styling workshops later on this year and will be advertising these on my Instagram and Facebook accounts, among other sources. So keep an eye out for these in the near future!

An exciting new service has just launched in collaboration with a local Perth Photographer and Makeup Artist known as “Ignite Your Confidence”. This package combines valuable knowledge and skills from all three businesses, to help women be more confident in themselves and their image. To find out more about this exciting new service be sure to follow Ignite Your Confidence on Facebook or Instagram (see handles below).

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